Mandela Rhodes Place Hotel boasts with Baobab trees

The art installation forms part of the hotel's investment in offering a compassionate, inspiring guest experience centered round "ubuntu" and "wamkelekile" (you are welcome), while creating a cultural platform that both uplifts and showcases the art and talent of local communities.

The abstract trees were inspired by the mystical baobab tree which has been used historically for food, water and shelter and is often a meeting place for African tribes. Creator of the wire trees, Jeff Mwazha, also conceptualised the innovative wire Nelson Mandela design in the atrium, which symbolises former President Mandela's walk to freedom. As a self-taught wire artist, Jeff has undergone a 20-year artistic journey in creating modern art out of wire and many of his amazing wire artwork has found homes all over the world.

A visual and cultural journey

The innovative, three metre-high wire-tree installations, meanwhile, are made of recyclable iron rod with a striking six metre tall wire-tree on the third floor. "I have grown up with baobab trees and when I was commissioned by Mandela Rhodes Place Hotel and Spa to create a tree-inspired design, I wanted to reflect this mystical tree as abstract fine art. The iron rods resemble tree bark which I used to create textural beauty and depth," says Jeff.

Located on Cape Town's heritage and cultural pulse, Mandela Rhodes Place Hotel and Spa celebrates Nelson Mandela and his ethos with a visual and cultural journey in the atrium and corridors of the hotel. The hotel also recently unveiled a rubric cube mosaic in the lobby in which 1460 colour blocks form an abstract tapestry of a smiling Madiba.

Guests can further honour the legacy of Nelson Mandela by viewing the life and times of South Africa's most prolific icon in 14 distinct sections which are highlighted across the walls of one of the hotel's entrance corridors.